Arthur Fery urged to overcome early nerves and ‘shake up’ Alexander Zverev

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Three-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Roger Taylor has told local lad Arthur Fery to get his nerves under control and shake Alexander Zverev early to continue his fairy-tale run.

Taylor’s wife, Alison, coached British wild card sensation Fery in the infancy of his tennis career, and the pair have watched on with delight at the remarkable journey of the 23-year-old into the semi-finals at the All England Club.

Fery was ranked 114 ahead of the tournament, but has produced comeback wins over Zizou Bergs and Grigor Dimitrov before he dismantled Flavio Cobolli in straight sets on Wednesday to set up a last-four meeting with French Open champion Zverev on Friday.

“Arthur has a brilliant game. It is amazing how he has blossomed and every match he has played, he has come out and I think it’s a measure of a player by winning from behind, which he has done against people like Dimitrov,” Taylor, 84, told the Press Association.

“He has proved he can mix it with the big guys but he has now got one bigger than most of them coming up.

“I will be looking forward to it and it will be exciting for him. It will be tense and everyone has those bundle of nerves, but he will shake them off and I do think the first set is going to be very important to see how the strategy develops between the big server and Arthur trying to get the big serve back.

“You can only play your own game to the best of your ability.

“He will try hard, he has a great fighting spirit, never gives in, so all of those things are important and he has shown them, but if he can just get going in the first set, get a break of serve and shake Zverev up a bit, that would be fantastic. Hopefully that is what he can do.”

Fery has defied the odds in every round to capture the imagination of the public, which also proved the case for Taylor in 1973 when he played in the Championships at a time when the majority of players on the ATP Tour decided to boycott the grand slam.

Taylor has since produced a book titled ‘The Man Who Saved Wimbledon’ and whilst his journey ended in the semi-finals 53 years ago, he has backed Fery to better his run.

“Yes, Alison coached him,” Taylor said. “When they are small you can’t do a lot, but they are learning and you’re teaching them all the time.

“Arthur was always around the club.

“You don’t know what they are going to be like until they get thrown into the cauldron of Wimbledon and he’s come through it, is getting better at it and becoming a celebrity personality, but he’s playing brilliant.

“Zverev is very tough and won the French this year. He’s very solid all round, is 6ft 6in so it is a very tough proposal, but when you get to the semi-finals of Wimbledon, you don’t expect anything else.

“Advice? Come on Arthur, you can do it!”